Transporting and hoisting undercarriage



March 5, 1935. F. MERON 7 3, 4

TRANSPORTING AND HOISTING UNDERCARRIAGE Fi led Dec. 7, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 firafif'on: F Na/o 21 March 1935- i F. MERON I 1,993,245

TRANSPORTING AND HOISTING UNDERCARRIAGB Filed Dec. 7, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 [KM w- Patented Mar. 5, 1935 I r 1,993,245

UNITED STATES PATENT omos 1,993,245

TBANSPOBTING AND HOISTING UNDER- CARRIAGE Frederic Moron, Paris, France I Application December 7, 1931, Serial No. 519,634 In France August 4, 1931 Y 1 Claim. (C'l. 254-7) The object of the present invention is a hoistchassis of the vehicle loaded onto the movable ing truck or under-carriage intended for the purframe and thus to lift the vehicle by this point; pose of transporting, and maintaining at a cer- '7. The providing of trap doors at the ends tain height above the ground of, automobile veof the cross member sliding ways which permit hicles for the repair or maintenance of which it of uncovering openings which make it possible 5 is indispensable to gain ready access to those to remove the cross members. parts which are positioned underneath the ve- 8. The providing at each of the four corners hicle proper. of the main frame of fixed hoisting jacks posi- The truck or under-carriage which forms the' tloned accordin to he axi of the scr ws as Set 10 subject matter of the present invention is more forth in 1, the object of said fixed Jacks being to 10 particularly characterized by the following imhold the apparat s in my Position in which it "provements which relate to: may hav e n pla d a t r ins v d and t 1. The providihg of screws vertically poslset it perfectly level however much out of level the tioned at each one of the four corners of the ground may be at this particular spot;

main frame and rotationally driven by an elec- 9. The arrangement of loading ramps leading 15 tric motor through gears solid with said screws, to the run way 88 d rampb61118 cu t d for the purpose of hoisting the movable frame and capable of being raised vertically when the supporting the run-ways, said screws being prov hi has b en placed on the apparatus in. vided with nuts, integral with the movable frame, h a m r that the hoist y P v 8 b x in such amanner that rotation of the said screws in which the vehicle is safe from any damage 20 determines a vertical displacement of the movw h mi h be caused to it y thehendling f able frame; other vehicles outside;

I 2. The providing of a device for automatically The providing 01! Wilda?! Control f arresting the movement of the movable frame the t a sm n Shaft which drives the in both at the upper and lower end of its run, said w." this vi i s constituted by a shaft 25 device being constituted by stops fixed n the on which are keyed two hand operated cranks; frame and operating circuit breakers positioned 11. A clutch device which makes it possible, both at the upper and lower portion of the main y p ra inl a $in8le v o ha ge Over the frame uprights; drive from the motor to hand control and vice so 3. The positioning of the gears driving the versa, thus makin it possible to uti z t e pscrews rotationally i leak-proof housings filled paratus even in the event of a break-down in with lubricant; the electric current;

4. The providing of a method of assembling 12. A special conformation of .the raising and disassembling the transmission shafts posi- Screws when the apparatuses ar intended to tioned between the motor and the gears enclosed ise e movable frame to 8 great height p to 35 within the housings according to 3, said shafts thirteen feet for instance), the screws in this being connected by couplings, positioned out ide case being made of large diameter tubing with the housings, to stub shafts integral with the an outside thread in order to avoid buckling; gears and which protrude beyond the housings; 13. Th p v i f removable -p s 5. The providing of movable cross members which can be positioned on either side of the .4)

' capable of sliding on the run-ways, between the frame and which are made of planking fixed to U irons which constitute the said run-ways, so hooks suitably shaped to fit exactly onto the outer that it may be possible to position them, transflanges of the U irons which form the run ways. versally, at any selected point along the length On the attached drawings:

of the movable frame; Figure 1 is an elevation of a hoisting appa- 45 6. The providing on the cross members as deratus built conformably with the invention; scribed in 5 of hoisting jacks capable of slid- Figure 2 is a plan view of the same'apparatus. ing transversally on said cross members so that As will be seen on the drawings, in the appathe jacks may be positioned at any selected point ratus improved conformably with the invention,

60 along the width of the movable frame comprised frame 1 which is movable in a vertical direction between the run-ways, the assembly of which is and which supports the two run ways 2 and 3, made up of the cross members according to 5 is positively connected, at its extremities, by cross and of the jacks sliding on the cross members members 4 to nuts 5 which engage with square thus making it possible to position the jacks unthreaded vertical screws 6.

der any selected point of the axles or of the There are four such screws 6 (one at each 55 corner of the apparatus) and they are pivoted on main frame 7 which is integral with uprights 8 in which the screws are suitably guided and retained by stops. In cases where the load has to be raised to a great height (up to thirteen feet for instance), the screws might be constituted by large diameter tubes provided'with an outside thread in order to avoid buckling.

Screws 6 may be rotationally driven by an electric motor 9 fixed on main frame 7 which drives a longitudinal shaft 11, through a train of gearing 10, said longitudinal shaft in turn driving transverse shafts 12 and 13 and at the same speed. These shafts (11, 12 and 13) drive screws 6 rotationally through bevel gears.

The rotation of screws 6 in one direction or another causes frame 1, which supports the run ways, to rise or fall vertically.

The gears which drive screws 6 rotationally are positioned in housings 22 which are absolutely leak-proof and into which oil or grease has been introduced; each of the gears is keyed to a stub shaft which protrudes beyond the housing and which is made integral with the drive shaft (11, 12, 13) by a coupling 23, these couplings being provided for the purpose of dismantling or fitting the drive shafts easily without the necessity of touching the gears or the housings in which they are enclosed. An automatic stopping device for arresting the movement of movable frame 1 at the top and at the bottom end of its run has been provided, said device being constituted by checks fixed to the movable frame and capable of actuating current breaking organs fitted at the upper and lower portions of uprights 8.

Between U irons 2 and 3 which form the run ways are positioned cross members 14 which rest at their extremities on U irons 24 integral with the run ways and which are free to slide in the run ways in such a way that said cross members 14 maybe moved longitudinally and take up any position in this direction.

The bases 15 ofthe hoisting-jacks 16 are capable of sliding transversally along cross members 14, twelve of the saidv hoisting jacks being preferably provided and being capable of sliding along the entire length of cross members 14 in order to take up any selected transverse position v between the two run ways.

Owing'to the latter arrangement it will always be possible, whatever the track or model of the vehicle loaded on the movable frame, to bring any one of jacks 16 beneath anv selected point of the vehicle inorder to raise it precisely by the said point and by the action of jacks 16 themselves.

This arrangement will therefore make it possible to raise above the movable frame any one of the axles, or any one of the wheels, or all the wheels at the same time, the apparatus being usually provided with two cross members 14.

For the purpose of making it possible to remove the cross members in case of need (in the event for instance of its being desired to bring the run ways closer together in order to accommodate a vehicle with a narrower track than that provided for on the apparatus), openings 25 which are normally kept closed by trap-doors 26 articulated on the members themselves, are provided at the ends of iron members 24; when it is desired to remove cross members 14 it is sufficient to uncover openings 25 by rotating trap doors 26 in the direction of arrow f; the cross members being brought above the opening then drop naturally below the run ways which may then be displaced.

In the specification of the copending application 422,446 filed January 21, 1930, it has been stated that the apparatus rests on four wheels 17, which are capable of rotating in all directions and which arepositioned at each of the four corners of the apparatusin order to render it readily movable in,a1l directions.

Conformably with the invention fixed hoisting jacks 18 have been added to this system of wheels; these are raised when the apparatus is being moved and brought into action when the hoist has been brought to the selected spot.

By acting on said hoisting-jacks 18 the apparatus rests firmly on the ground and wheels 17 are slightly raised; any untimely displacement of the hoist while work is being carried out is thus avoided; on the other hand whatever differences in the level of the ground there may be at the place in which work is being carried out it is possible, by actuating the hoisting jacks" to varying extents, to render the apparatus perfectly level which facilitates its functioning, ensures perfect balancing of the load and prevents any abnormal stressing of the screws or of the parts by which they are controlled.

The apparatus is completed by an auxiliary shaft 19 which also actuates shaft 11 through a chain shaft 19 can be rotationally driven by hand, in the event of the failure of motor 9 by means of the two hand cranks 21.

A device for clutching and unclutching makes it possible, by the mere operation of a lever, to go from power drive to hand drive and vice versa, as this operation may become necessary in order to continue making use of the apparatus in the event of failure of the electric current.

The loading ramps leading to the run ways are articulated and they are capable of being raised vertically, when a vehicle is placed on the hoist, so that the apparatus forms a sort of box in which the vehicle is safe from any damage which it might sustain in consequence of the handling of other vehicles outside. Removable foot-plates can be placed on the sides of the run ways in order to make it easier to carry out an examination of the vehicles loaded; said footplates are constituted by planks 28 bolted onto brackets 29 provided with hooks 30 suitably shaped to hook exactly onto the outer flanges of the U irons which form the run ways.

It should be understood that the method of embodiment of the invention herein described and represented on the attached drawings is given merely as an example and that modifications may be made without such modifications causing any departure from the characteristics of the invention.

What I claim is:

A hoisting apparatus of the type described comprising, in combination, a main-frame, a movable frame supporting runways, removable cross members capable of sliding on said run ways, openings provided at the extremities of said run ways making it possible to remove the cross members, pivoting trap-doors capable of covering and uncovering, as the case may be, the said openings, and means for causing the displacement of the movable frame relatively to the main-frame.

FREDERIC MERON. 

